The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1887-03-09
Liquor Taxes.

Farmers of Michigan, consider we'll these
facts from the standpoint of your own inter
ests az farmers. The large revenue paid by
wholesale and retail dealers in liquor goes
into the treasures of the villages and cities
of the state and in no way lessons your
taxes. The justice courts, the circuit courts,
the supreme court, the jails, prisons, insane
asylums and poor houses, with their army of
officials, are maintained by taxes, of which il
is notorious that you pay more than your
fair share. Does any man deny that very
large proportion of the business of these
judicial machines and charitable and penal
institutions, that have saddled upon us such
a burden of taxes, is chargeable to the
saloon? This cry about the saloon helping
pay the taxes Ia one that, followed To its
legitimate conclusion, fastens upon the farm.
ers of Michigan additional taxes, and will so
long as drunkenness produce disorder, i'm
morality, crime, disease and poverty. --Grdnge
Visitor.
1t is surprising that so intelligent news
paper as the Visitor is capable of SO mis-
stating facts. The large revenue paid by
wholesale and retail dealers in liquor" does
not 90 "into the treasures of the villages
and cities of the state" but does lessen the
taxes of the farmers. The liquor tax is paid
into the county treasures. 1t is chiefly col
lected from villages and cities and, therefore,
it is the cities and villages which lessen the
farmers taxes. This money goes to pay the
expenses of the Justice courts, the circuit
courts. the jails and poor houses with their
army of officials. -Detr0t EccRSpg JOUg-
NAL
1T is surprising that so intelligent news
paper as the JOurndl is capable of so mis-
stating facts The large revenue paid by
wholesale and retail dealers in liquor" does
90 "into the treasures of the villages and
cities in which such business is carried on.
The J0UrhGy is correct i'll stating that such
taxes are paid into the county treasures, but
such statement is but half the truth. The
money SO paid does not. as the ,JOu1RQl says,
"go to pay the expenses of the justice
courts, the circuit courts, the jails and the
poor houses with their army of officials, :"
but under the provisions of law, HowEIL's
Annotated Statutes. S1,2SS, is placed to the
credit OF the contingent fund of the munich
pality from which the same was collected
and is by the county treasurers paid over, on
demand, TO the treasurers of such munich
palities.
The position taken by the Visitor is in
exact accordance with the statute and the
JoayRal lawyer is either guilty of wilful
Misrepresentation or else be is needlessly
ignorant. If the latter is the case, he should
read the statutes; if such Misrepresentation
was wilful, it betrays the weakness of the
cause the JOUr3ldy is trying to bolster up.
The truth of the matter is that not q sim
gle dollar of the liquor taxes is of any direct
benefit to the farmer except, it may be, in
comparatively few isolated instances where
saloons are kept outside of the limits of any
incorporated village or city, in which cese
the tax paid goes into the contingent fund
of the townships in which they are located.